Just the Right Words
by BriarRose1313
Summary: Steve Rogers, musician and jock, has done the absolute unthinkable: he's cheated off of Tony Stark's test. Now caught and unable to stop thinking about the boy genius, he's compelled to write a song about Tony, but the words won't flow. And relationships with Tony Stark are always more complicated than they seem.
1. Chapter 1

Steve Rogers leaned his head back against the headboard of his bed, strumming at his guitar. As he held its mahogany neck tightly and ran his pick down its coated strings, he could feel the raw emotion escaping it, the sound flowing like a river and carrying itself into his ears. Rogers shut his eyes, feeling his lips curl into a wide smile as he hit that final note. Eventually its sound faded and he cautiously set his guitar by his bedside. That Ibanez GA5 was Steve's outlet. Every chord strummed on that guitar was another bit of stress released from his mind. He sighed dreamily as he stared at it, and after a moment of debate, he stepped toward his desk, flipped open a textbook, and began forcing himself to study.

* * *

And he studied for the wrong test. _Shit_, he thought. Steve ran his hand through his hair and groaned. What kind of idiot studies the wrong chapter? Worse, it was _science_. Rogers's grade in that class was already dropping dangerously low, and he couldn't risk another failed grade.

As the rest of the students made their way into the classroom, he found himself analyzing each one of them. Was he really thinking of doing it? Cheating wasn't in Steve's nature, but this test was really important. He outwardly sighed. _No. It's wrong, Steve_. Besides, there was no one in the class he necessarily thought he could cheat off of. Not with confidence, at least.

At this point the teacher was calling role and Steve remained in his own world until he heard his name. "Mr. Rogers."

"Here," Steve uttered just loud enough for the instructor to hear.  
"Mr. Stark ... Anthony? Gosh, is he late aga-" she was cut off by the classroom door creaking open, answering her question.  
"Sorry," Tony Stark said as he took his seat in front of Steve, "I got caught up in something."

Their teacher just frowned and stood up behind her desk. "You need to start minding your punctuality, Mr. Stark. That's the third time this week!" She stared at him for a second before he replied with a shrug. The woman sighed and finished role, which was when Steve got the idea. _Tony_, he thought. _Of course!_ He hardly knew the kid, but one thing he did know was that he was a genius. If Steve copied off of him, he'd definitely make the grade.

The tests were soon passed out and the teacher took her seat at her desk, wiping some stray blond hairs from her face. Steve quickly went through the test and answered all of the questions that he thought he knew were correct, which was about five of the twenty-five. Then he glanced at Tony's paper every now and again, filling in the corresponding bubbles. He pretended to rub out answers and change them, hoping his act was convincing enough (not that anyone in the classroom cared). He waited a couple of minutes after Tony turned in his test to do the same, and he exchanged a nervous smile with his teacher as he set his paper on top of the stack. He glanced at Stark as he walked past. The dark haired boy was doodling in his notebook; Steve didn't care to find out what. He had done enough looking over Tony's shoulder for a while. He fell back into his chair, rubbing the back of his neck.

* * *

Sitting at the lunch table that day, Peter Parker caught him off guard by slamming a sheet of paper on the table in front of him. Steve blinked a couple times, and then turned to his friend quizzically. "What's this?"

"Baseball. You're trying out, right?" He inquired, crossing his arms.

"I don't know, Pete. I just don't think-"

Peter cut him off there. He took the seat next to him and set his camera on the table. "Come _on_, Steve! You and I both know that you have the best arm in the entire school! You'd be the starting pitcher or something!" Steve looked at his friend, then down at the signup sheet. He gave a sheepish grin, scratched the back of his head, and nodded. "Alright, fine. But you have to promise to cover every game."

Peter smiled and nodded. "Yeah, of course!"  
The two of them ate their lunch in silence, which was kind of odd. Pete always had something to run past Steve that either made him think or forced him to engage in speaking. He didn't mind, though.

Today he found himself staring across the lunchroom at Tony Stark. He was grinning and laughing with all of his friends, who kept their eyes glued to him. Tony really was the center of attention.  
Pete had turned to say something to Steve and caught his stare, following it for a second. Then he snapped his friend out of his daydream. "Tony Stark, huh? Jealous?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah... I guess. I mean, what is there not to be jealous of?"

Peter nodded.

"Hey," Steve nudged Peter with his elbow, "What do you know about him?"

Peter grinned with pride. "I've done a lot of articles on him for the newspaper! He's held the title of State Science Fair Champion since the 7th grade, his father sponsors the baseball, football, and basketball teams, he's student council president, and if I'm not mistaken, he's dating Pepper Potts."

Steve nodded and leaned back in his chair. "So I guess it was a good idea to copy off of his science test this morning, eh?"

Pete gaped at him. "You cheated off of Tony Stark?"

"Keep it down!" Steve shushed him. "Yeah, I copied off of his test this morning. What's the big deal? I'm sure plenty of people have cheated off of him before."

"Well, yeah, people have TRIED ... But he always finds a way of getting you caught. I would know, he did that to me in math class last semester."

"Wow ..." Steve said. "I wonder why he didn't turn me in."

"I don't know about you," Peter smiled, "but I would just consider myself lucky and move on."

"Yeah," Steve muttered, still staring in Tony's direction. Suddenly, Stark met his gaze. Rogers quickly turned his head picked up his belongings.

"C'mon, Pete. Let's get to gym."

* * *

Peter Parker was one of Steve's closest friends. The two of them had established that they were a team. High school survival buddies. This said, you can assume that Pete could tell when Steve was acting strange.

So when Steve started spacing out during a game of dodge ball, it didn't take two years of a blood bond to see that something different was going on in Rogers's head. Peter dodged a ball that flew past his head, grabbing it as it bounced against the wall of the gymnasium. He tossed it to Steve, who looked puzzled as he caught it. "H-Huh?"

"C'mon, Steve! Throw it! You act like you've never played dodge ball before," Pete caught another ball coming to him and threw it at a player on the opposing team, missing horribly.

"Oh. Y-Yeah."

"Jeez, Steve! What's gotten into yo-" he was cut off by a ball hitting him in the head. Peter fell to the ground, he was out cold. Steve turned his attention to the guy who threw the ball at his friend. He was laughing with his friends, that jerk.

Rogers reared back and whipped the ball he was holding in the kid's direction, hitting him in the stomach and sending him stumbling backward. The kid's friends stood in shock for a second, then went to help the winded boy.

Steve knelt down beside Peter and lifted the smaller boy's arm over his shoulder. He walked his friend to the bleachers, trying to get him to regain full consciousness. He shook the boy a little bit. "Pete? C'mon, Pete. Get up!"  
He started to groan and opened his eyes. "Ugh... Steve? What happened?"

Steve smiled. "You got drilled in the face. Let's get you to the nurse." Pete stumbled as he stood, starting to walk alongside Steve and out the door of the gym.

As they made their way to the nurse's office, Steve frowned at Peter, who had a bloody nose. "I'm sorry. It's my fault you got hit. If only I was paying attention, it wouldn't have happened!"

"That's okay, Steve. Really. I'm not that hurt, actually. Just tell me one thing..."

"Yeah?"

"What were you daydreaming about back there?"

Steve let out a long breath and hesitated. _Great, Rogers. __What do you say? "Oh, I've just been obsessing over this guy all day and I kind of want to write a song about him!" like it's nothing new?_

"I guess ... I guess I was still thinking about Tony Stark."

Peter looked confused for a second, and then his face glowed with some form of realization. "I get it. You're feeling super guilty! I should've expected this from you, Steve."

"Uh..."

"Don't worry, Steve. Tony isn't gonna get you killed or anything-"

"That's not really it, Pete," Steve said kind of sheepishly.

"Oh...?" Peter slowed down, his head tilted slightly to the side.

"You see, well, I just keep thinking of this kid. And I've been thinking ... I wanna write a song."

Peter stopped in tracks. He was looking at Rogers as if he belonged in an asylum. "Okay. So. Lemme get this straight. You copy off of a guy's test, and then suddenly you have the urge to write a song for him? Isn't that a little weird?"

"Not necessarily for him just ... about him," Steve let out, fidgeting a little.

"What about him? You hardly know Stark, let alone have a relationship with the kid."

"That's the thing, Pete. I just have the drive to write a song about him, but I don't even know him. It's not like I asked for this or anything. It just happened and now I want to write for - about - him."

Again, Peter just stared. Finally, he started walking alongside his friend again. "And I got nailed in the face for this? You're a weird guy, you know that, Rogers?" He playfully punched Steve in the arm, laughing. "I'll help you out in any way I can."

They finally made it to the nurse's office and Peter gave Steve a smile. "Thanks, Steve."

"No problem. It was the least I could do," he waited for the nurse to come over and close the door, and then he turned to walk down the hallway again.

_"You copy off of a guy's test, and then suddenly you have the urge to write a song for him?"_

* * *

The next day as Steve was sluggishly making his way toward the cafeteria, he heard a voice call his name. "Hey! Rogers!"

Steve froze in place. He became as stiff as a board. If he had heard correctly, that was the voice of...

"Steve!"

... Tony Stark.

He slowly turned around and met the other boy's smirking face. "Was I mistaken? It's Steve, right?" Tony held out a hand.

"Y-Yeah, Steve Rogers," he found himself simply staring at Stark's outstretched arm. He couldn't move his own.

"Well?" Tony shook his arm around. Steve cautiously moved his hand to Tony's and shook it. The other boy just laughed. "What do you want? I-I mean, sorry, can I help you or something?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. I just thought I'd say hi. I mean, we're classmates and everything," he pushed the door open for Steve, who self-consciously noticed a couple heads turn when they made their entrance. The remark itself sounded different. It had an almost sarcastic essence about it but, at the same time, what reason had Stark to be sarcastic?

"Oh," Steve managed. For some reason he was borderline speechless. Tony stopped him and opened his mouth to say something when Pepper called from their lunch table. "Tony! C'mon! We want to talk to you about some things!" her voice was so clear and warm, it was beautiful. Stark shot her a smile and nodded, holding up a finger to tell her to wait. He turned back to Steve. "Sorry, looks like they need me over there. I'll see you around, Steve," he started to strut over to his table but stopped and turned around briskly, remembering something. "Oh, and by the way, what did you get on that science test?"

Steve's eyes widened at the rhetorical question as Tony gave him a quick wink and hurried back to his table. As Rogers watched the other boy sit down with his friends, he let out a long sigh, partially of relief, partially of pure terror. Then his attention turned to Peter, who was waving him over.

Steve sat down next to his friend. "Hey," he greeted wearily.

"How was your conversation with Stark?" Parker was giving him a look that was absolutely devious.

"Pete ... Please tell me that you weren't the one who convinced Tony to talk to me."

Peter smiled. "I might have suggested that you were worth talking to."

"You're kidding me."

"It didn't go well?"

"Well," he hesitated. "It didn't go bad ... it just didn't go great."

"Tell me," Pete leaned in as if he was a school girl awaiting the latest gossip.

"He just said hello and introduced himself, then his friends called him over. And he knows I cheated off of his test."

Peter paused, thinking it over. Finally, he shrugged. "It could've gone worse. He looked like he was in a good mood, right?"

"I guess," Steve placed his right elbow on the table, resting his face in it. Pete patted his back, not saying a word for a couple minutes. Then went on for the rest of the lunch period about a new camera he was hoping to buy with the money he earned from his paid internship with the city newspaper. The whole time Steve found himself thinking about how terrible his exchange with Stark went, glancing at him occasionally.

_Yeah, that could've gone better._

* * *

That afternoon Steve and Peter were taking their normal route home from school. "Hey, you wanna come over this weekend? I've got the coolest new video game I want you to play with me," Pete was walking backwards, struggling to keep his balance. Steve smiled.

"Yeah, sure. Though, I'll probably be busy practicing. Baseball tryouts are next Friday and I haven't thrown in months."

"Oh, that's alright, Steve!" Parker waved at him as he reached his aunt's apartment. Steve waved back and headed up a couple of floors to his own.

He didn't actually plan on practicing that much, but he_ really _didn't feel like playing video games. He imagined they were way more fun if you're good at them, which Steve wasn't. Not at all.

Rogers pulled out the key to his apartment, rushing up to his room as soon as he entered. He fell onto his bed and threw his school bag onto the ground.

Then, he grabbed his guitar.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

_Ugh..._

Tony Stark always felt sluggish after his checkups with his heart doctor, but today's anguish was particularly insufferable. This could most likely be explained by the fact that the appointment was scheduled for four o'clock in the morning and Tony generally enjoyed his beauty sleep. But he didn't bother to question when his maid awoke him and hurried him downstairs claiming that his heart doctor had come for his monthly checkup, probably because he was still struggling to assess what in the world would make his staff think that they should vivify him by bursting through his door and screaming "The doctor's here!"

He thought a simple knock on the door and a pleasant "Tony, darling~" would suffice.

The school's late bell rang throughout the empty hallways as Tony, with his backpack slung over his shoulder, made his way to his first period science class. As he approached the door to his classroom, he remembered that he forgot his doctor's note.

_Whatever..._

Tony yawned and slowly opened the door, trudging to his seat. "Sorry," Tony muttered, "I got caught up in something."  
He felt the teacher's cold eyes on him as he practically fell into his seat and dropped his bag on the ground beside him.

"You need to start minding your punctuality, Mr. Stark. That's the third time this week!"

To be honest, Tony wanted to come back at her with a remark that would set the whole classroom into hysterics. But, even so, his desire to embarrass his science teacher was far outweighed by the fact that he was outrageously tired and wanted to get through the school day peacefully. Particularly without another visit with the school principal. When he noticed that the instructor was awaiting a rebuttal, he shrugged, hoping she would just move on.

Thankfully she did exactly so and was passing out their tests about five minutes later. Stark was overly prepared for this test, but he took his time, making sure his groggy eyes weren't deceiving him. About halfway through the test, Tony thought he felt someone staring at him. So he rested his elbow on his desk, placing his head in his palms at an angle. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he confirmed his suspicions. The guy behind him (Rogers, was it?) was copying his answers.

Had he been in the mood, Tony would've come up with some creative method of getting this kid caught. But today really wasn't the day, so he decided to just let it slide this one time. He quickly wrapped up his test, not bothering to look over his answers since he already knew he was right, and pulled out a notebook. He didn't feel like getting in trouble for sleeping in class, which this teacher had a strict intolerance of.

Before he knew it, the cover and the first two pages of his notebook were covered with numerous crude drawings scattered throughout.

* * *

At the lunch table that day, Tony was much livelier. He had just gotten out of his gym period, where he, almost immediately, got hit in the arm and managed to sneak off into the bathrooms and take a good nap.

Pepper Potts, Stark's vice president and one of his closest friends, was going on about something drab and political. If it was to flaunt her knowledge at the new set of girls sitting at the table or simply Pepper being herself, he could not care to tell. But either way, he knew it was starting to bore and/or scare their guests at the table, so he promptly made a comment that got everyone laughing and sent them into their own side conversations.

"Don't look now," his friend, Bruce Banner, started as soon as there was a silence, "but I think that guy over there is staring at you."

"Hm?" Tony peered over Pepper's shoulder and found that same Rogers kid from science class looking dreamily in his direction. "Oh yeah, that's the kid who copied off of my science test today. His name is Steve, right?"

Bruce nodded in response to his question and Ms. Potts arched her eyebrow in disapproval. "Haven't we gone over this before, Tony? About how you -"

"'About how you simply cannot allow someone to cheat off of you blah blah blah pride blah blah blah blah,'" Tony mocked her playfully, "Yes, Pepper, we've gone over this plenty. C'mon, it was one time. In my defense, I was sleep-deprived due to my irregularly scheduled doctor's appointment this morning."

Pepper didn't even need to ask. She knew exactly how all of it went. Howard Stark, being the busy man that he was, scheduled plenty of appointments, due dates, and meetings of a wide variety throughout his work day. And because his life was so jam-packed, he was often very tired and disorganized. As you can imagine, this often caused many miscommunications and, therefore, his habit of being late to a chunk of said appointments, due dates, and meetings.

This was a habit he had, unfortunately, passed down to his son.

Potts was soon snapped out of her thought processes when Tony had asked her a question. "Hey, what do you know about that kid, anyway?"

"Nothing interesting, really. He's just your average student."

"Tell me about him, anyway."

"Well," Potts tried to remember what she had learned, " his best friend is that Parker boy who's always trying to talk to you about the school newspaper, he lives with only one parent, he has a near-horrifying grade in science," she smirked, "Oh! And he's rather athletic. He plays baseball."

"Perfect."

"What?"

" ... Nothing."

Bruce spoke up again. "A little bit spacey, isn't he?"

Tony glanced over Pepper's shoulder to the boy again. This time, though, he noticed and became quite flustered, gathering his things and his friend and quickly escaping the cafeteria. How adorable.

Tony decided right then that Steve was the perfect person to help him out with his plan to earn the attention and praise of his father. It was going to be tough going, though, considering that this plan of his involved trying out and then making the baseball team. And Stark wasn't athletic. Under any definition of the word. With someone like Steve to help him survive tryouts, he could carry out his plan with ease. Hopefully.

Seeing that his friends had begun cleaning up their things already, Tony quickly gathered his together and threw them away, heading to his next class.

* * *

Tony felt himself yawn for the fifth time in the past half-hour. Math was an absolute bore. As he felt his eyelids giving up on him, the sweet savior of the afternoon's release bell rescued him.

Just when he thought he was home free, Tony felt someone take him by the arm. He turned his head to see that reporter kid smiling nervously at him.

"Tony Stark!"

"Um..P... Percy...? Perry-?"

"Peter," the boy corrected.

"Yes!" Tony snapped his fingers, "Anyways. I've really gotta go. Believe me, I would _love_ to stick around and chat but I have that one thing I gotta get to -"

"I'm not here about the paper, don't worry," Parker smiled. " I just have a favor to ask of you."

"Er... I'm not so sure I'm up for that."

"It's about my buddy Steve ..." he hesitated, evidently not knowing how to say it. Tony stopped. He gently pulled his arm out of the other boy's grip. "I'm listening."

"He's been ... er ... He has this thing he's doing. And, uh, he just wants to talk to you -"

"No problem. I'll help you out," Stark replied briskly, sounding disinterested.

"Oh. Okay then. Thanks!" Peter glowed in a disturbingly cute way and Tony just waved a hand.

"Don't mention it."

With that, the boy ran off into a crowd of students all rushing to get out of the doors. Tony leaned against a row of lockers, running his hand through his hair and making his way out of the building.

Walking home, the only thing he thought about was baseball.

* * *

The next day, Stark turned a corner as he maneuvered through the school halls to get to lunch. There was Steve, walking to the cafeteria, the only other person in the hallway. Here was his chance to make an impression.

"Hey! Rogers!" he called out as sped up his pace to catch up to the other kid. The poor boy seemed to freeze in his tracks. It was almost comical. _It's almost like he's scared of me. How cute,_ Tony thought as he approached Rogers. "Steve!"

This time, the boy turned around. He looked pale. "Was I mistaken? It's Steve, right?" Of course, this was only in attempt to get this shy kid to say something.

"Y-Yeah. Steve Rogers," as the boy said this he stared at Tony's hand. Stark was getting impatient so he decided to speed the process up. This slow kid obviously needed a kick start or something. "Well?" Tony moved his arm around, smirk still plastered on his face. This time Steve took his hand and shook it lightly, as if it was a delicate thing that was easily screwed up.

At this, Tony couldn't help but outwardly laugh.

"What do you want? I-I mean, sorry, can I help you or something?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. I just thought I'd say hi. I mean, we're classmates and everything," Tony said as he pushed the cafeteria doors open for him. He had tried to make a point of looking at Peter as he said this, but he felt as if Rogers didn't catch it. "Oh," was all the kid said. How boring.

He was about to start asking Steve about baseball when heard Pepper's familiar voice cutting in. "Tony! C'mon! We want to talk to you about some things!" Tony turned and smiled at her, putting up a finger and looking back to Steve. "Sorry, looks like they need me over there. I'll see you around, Steve." he started over to the table when he thought of a way to mess with him.  
"Oh, and by the way, what did you get on that science test?"

Steve's face was absolutely priceless.

Tony shot him a wink and sat down in his usual spot at the lunch table, where he finally let out a laugh. His friends looked curious as to why he even bothered talking to Rogers, but he knew it would be too hard to explain. "That was probably one of the worst conversations that I have ever had," he said.

It was so funny and awkward, but he couldn't help but believe that the exchange went perfectly well. After all, he had Steve right where he wanted him. The boy was bound to want to redeem himself, and Tony would give him a chance to do so when the time came.

Pepper's classic look of "Tony, what the hell are you up to?" Was plastered firmly on her face. "Now, Pepper. No need to be getting any ideas. You know I don't -"

"You plan on using him for something, don't you?"

"Well, uh ... See, here's the thing, Ms. Potts-"

"You're taking advantage of him! Ugh, Tony!" She groaned, rubbing her temples. Stark noticed that one of his closer friends, James Rhodes, was back at school, recovering from his flu. "Rhodey! Hey! Did you get your makeup work alright? Y'know -"

"Tony! Seriously! You can't just keep -"

"Pepper, I was -"

"Using people for your own gain and -"

"Now, I need to stop you there. I'm not just -"

"Expecting to dispose of them -"

"I do not 'dispose' of people! That's quite an exaggera-"

"It's selfish, Tony!"

Tony went silent, staring at Pepper for a moment before leaning across the table, whispering just loud enough for her to hear.

"My father has barely five minutes to spare on me every day. He has no excuse to speak to me unless it's in front of the press or his co-workers. I need Steve to get me onto that baseball team so that maybe he can spend a few more minutes on me every now and again. Is that wrong, Pepper? Call me selfish, but I want what millions of other kids in the world have. And I'm working for it."

All of the students around him went silent as Tony stood up, looked down at his feet, and then calmly exited the cafeteria.

* * *

"Dad, I need you to sign this sheet for me," Tony approached his father in his study, sliding the parental consent and concerns portion of the athletics signup sheet in front of him.

"I'm kinda busy, son," Howard said, scribbling his signature on some seemingly important papers.

"It's just for baseball, Dad. If you'd only give me a minute ..."

"Yeah?" Howard skimmed the rest of the document he was working on and took up the one Tony had handed him. He signed his name in the appropriate places and wrote down the dates, then came down to the section that was labeled "Medical Concerns", his pen hovering over it. "Oh, you can just leave that blank," Tony snatched up the paper quickly. "Thanks, Dad."

Howard nodded, typing several phrases on his computer before yawning audibly. Tony slipped out of the room quietly, heading up to his room to forge a physical examination.


	3. Chapter 3

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE_**:_ I would like to explain myself here. ^^" You see, I was writing this third chapter and wondered why it was taking so long to do so. Come to find out, by the time I had reached a stopping point, It was twice as long as the other two! So after a couple hours of pondering I had decided that I would just split them up into two chapters! Thus giving you this normal sized chapter and chapter four which is smaller than usual!_

_I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been reading my first story here! It is a real honor to have so many people watching this story and watching, well, me! So again, thank you, everyone! You've motivated me to keep writing! :)_

_PS: I'm terrible with ending chapters! Sorry! Dx_

* * *

Steve stepped onto the orangey clay of the school's baseball field, his cleats leaving their marks wherever he went. Peter sat on the metal bleachers on the opposite side of the fence, giving him a thumbs up before snapping a picture with his camera. Rogers found a place in the dugout to put his things and pulled his glove out of his equipment bag.

Steve was surprised at how quickly the week went by. Nothing eventful had occurred, and Stark hadn't said a word to him since their introduction the previous week. He had sat on his bed that Saturday evening, putting together chords at random, failing to come up with a decent melody. It was irritating. Until he got to know Tony, Steve felt he would never be able to put the boy's personality into a collection of chords and lyrics.

He leaned against the fence, tossing his baseball several feet in the air and catching it behind his back as he waited for someone to throw with. Everyone had already doubled up. Again, Steve released the ball into the air.

"Steve!"

"Huh?" He turned around, the ball landing in his glove. He was surprised to see Tony approaching him, equipment bag slung over his shoulder. He was wearing a black athletic compression shirt with black ball pants and shining metal cleats, obviously brand-new. "Tony? I didn't know you played baseball," Steve said in awe, almost skeptically.

"Yeah? Well I didn't, either."

Steve wondered what he meant by that.

"Well, anyways, I kind of need someone to warm up with, if you don't mind," Rogers smiled.

"Yeah, sure."

Tony quickly put away his things, pulling out his new Mizuno glove. "Whoa," Steve stared at Stark's mitt, "That's a great-looking glove. Has it even been broken in?"

Tony paused. "'Broken in'?"

"Y'know, is it comfortable yet? Loose?"

Tony slipped his hand inside, trying his hardest to open and close the glove, not succeeding.

"I can help you out with that sometime, if you want. But it should be good enough to throw with," Steve jogged a good distance away, lining up with other players, and threw the ball to Tony. Stark closed his left eye and held out his gloved hand. The ball flew straight into the glove's webbing and Tony quickly shut it and put a hand over top it to prevent it from escaping. He took this as very good for a boy who had only played catch once in his life.

_Okay. Here's the next challenge,_ he thought, _returning the ball._ Quickly he did a bit of math and physics in his head and then reared back, lobbing the ball at Steve, who caught it in front of his face._ There. That's all it takes_. Tony was proud of himself. He had taught himself the sport of baseball.

Or so he'd thought.

They continued their game of catch for a while, Steve getting faster and harder with every few balls that he threw. It didn't take too long for random boys to start gaping and ask how long Steve had been playing and which travel ball team he played on. To the surprise of many, Rogers had only been playing the game for about 2 years and played for a small local ballpark team. This was really because he knew the man who ran the place and got to play for free. Tony got recognition just for being able to catch the balls that Steve fired at him. Which was fine by him.

Eventually, the coach arrived, looking over every player trying out. This didn't take too long because there were only 26 boys. Finally, he came to Tony and Steve. "Stark? You're trying out?"

"Yes, sir."

He snorted. "Well, don't expect me to put you on the team just cause your daddy's paying for it."

At this, Stark smirked. "Honestly, sir, I didn't expect you to. I plan on earning my spot on this team like everyone else."

"Hmmph," he sighed as he glanced at Steve, who whipped the ball in Tony's direction. "Who _is_ that kid?" he asked.

"Steve Rogers," Tony's smirk remained as he threw the ball back, "He's gonna be your new starting pitcher." Rogers felt his face start to heat up as he heard him say this.

"Oh yeah?" the coach watched Steve throw another ball, "We'll see about that."

A few minutes later, the man was calling all of the boys to take a knee in left field. "Now," coach began," I have many names. I will allow you to call me by two; 'Coach McCoy' or 'Coach Beast'. No other names may be used. Got it?"

The group nodded silently.

"Alright, then. There are 26 of you. I'm only taking 16 of you on the team. Tryouts are going to go on until Monday. That means 5 of you will leave tonight and never come back. I wish all of you the best of luck. Now, let's get started. I want the pitchers and catchers to team up and start showing me what you've got. All of the others, line up in right field and start taking fly balls."

Tony was walking to right field with the larger portion of the boys when he heard coach McCoy get stopped behind him.

"Coach McCoy? I need a catcher," Steve said as he pointed to the two pitchers throwing with their catchers.

"I can do it. I have the gear," Tony heard himself saying as he walked over to stand next to Steve.

"Yeah. Stark seemed to work well with you. Can you pitch to him for now?"

Rogers nodded, walking with Tony to get his gear.

"You're a catcher?"

"Uh, well, if owning the gear and knowing how to squat down and catch balls being thrown at me at a hundred miles per hour makes me qualified, then yeah."

Stark knelt next to his bag, pulling out the shin guards, mask, and chest protector out of it and setting it beside him. He pulled out one of his mitts. "This is a catcher's mitt, right?"

Steve laughed. "Yeah."

Rogers then proceeded to help Tony put on his gear, since he had no clue as to what he was doing.

When Stark was finally set up, Steve stepped onto the practice mound, placing his feet carefully and covering his face from the nose down with his glove as he leaned forward with his throwing arm behind his back. He then brought his hands and feet together, focusing on the target Tony was giving him. Rogers reared back, lifting his front leg and striding gracefully. His arm flew from behind him, releasing the baseball perfectly. The ball sped toward Tony and hit him directly in his glove, the force of the pitch pushing him to fall on his backside.

"Jeez, Rogers! Are you trying to kill me or what?" Stark laughed as he tossed the ball back to him.

"Sorry!" Steve apologized sheepishly, "Are you alright?"

"Peachy," Tony stuck his glove out in front of him again, "Just keep pitching."

And they kept on like that for about a half hour. Back and forth. Tony let a ball past him every few pitches, a couple were stopped by his shin guards and face mask. The coach had come over to watch towards the end. He looked quite impressed.

"Alright! Now let's take some field!" Beast yelled.

* * *

Nine players took the field, eight got sent to the batting cages with the assistant coach, and the other nine got to run the bases. Players were constantly rotated so that everyone could be evaluated properly.

Tony was already panting when McCoy yelled "Take two laps around fence, grab your stuff, and then meet me at home plate!"

He found Steve and they ran at the same pace. At the second lap, Stark's breathing started getting heavier and heavier. Rogers looked at him worriedly. "Tony? Are you alright?"

He nodded, running his hand along the fence for support.

They quickly finished and grabbed their things, making their way to home plate, kneeling next to all of the other repugnant-smelling boys.

"Great Tryout, boys. And everyone here was good about getting their papers to me early, thank God," he stared at his clipboard for a moment, "Now, what you've all been waiting for. If I call your name, you haven't made the first cut."

He went down his clipboard, picking off the five names one by one.

Steve and Tony sighed simultaneously in relief. Their names weren't called. The two of them were walking out of the gate when Steve noticed Tony grabbing his chest.

"What's wrong?" He took a hold of Tony's shoulder, stopping him.

The boy took several breaths before he responded. "I didn't want to tell anyone, but I guess I can't get around telling you now," he was silent for a minute. "I have a rare heart condition. I'm not supposed to take part in strenuous activity."

"How are you trying out for the baseball team?" Steve asked, holding Tony's arm.

"I forged my physical. It was easy to get my dad to sign off on that stuff." He felt like falling over. He was completely lightheaded. "Hey, I need to eat. Let's go to that burger joint down the street."

Steve nodded and, after a struggle to obtain it, carried Tony's bag for him to the restaurant. It was getting to be 6:45-ish and the streets would soon be dark and cold. He had half a mind to drop Stark off and hurry home, but he was afraid to leave the boy alone.

* * *

Steve helped Tony into a booth by the window and sat across from him, sliding their bags underneath the table.

Almost immediately, a cute young waitress came to the table. "What can I get for you today?"

Tony skimmed the menu quickly and held his finger on one of the options. "Number 5. With a coke." The waitress nodded and scribbled it down on her notepad. "What do you want, Steve?" Tony asked.

"Nothing for me."

"Nonsense. Get something, it's on me," Stark held up his credit card with his forefinger and thumb. Steve smiled, glancing at the menu briefly.

"I'll have what he's having."

The girl nodded and scribbled some more on her paper. She ripped off a slip and handed it to Tony. It had her name and number neatly written with a little heart next to it. Tony winked at her and she hurried off into the kitchen, blushing.

"So," Steve began, "what makes you want to play baseball? I mean, there are plenty of other things that you could do that don't involve putting your life at risk."

"You say it so seriously," Tony leaned back in his seat. "You know my dad recently started sponsoring the school's baseball team, right?"

Steve nodded.

"He's really been into baseball lately. I think he sponsors these sports in hopes that I'll enjoy one. He sometimes forgets that I'm limited to this," he put a hand to his chest.

"So you're doing this for your dad?"

"In hopes of gaining some attention. Cliché, right?"

Steve shook his head. "I think that's what I would do."

"So how're things with your dad?" Tony asked.

He immediately felt like a dick for asking.

"Oh, he died when I was a kid."

"O-Oh, sorry."

"He's sort of the reason I play baseball, too. See, he was an amazing ballplayer. Everyone he knew swore he had the best arm in baseball. The Yankees almost took him," Steve smiled, looking down at the table.

"What happened?"

"He met my mom. Gave up his career for her. A year later they had me. When I was five dad started coaching me. He found out I had his arm, and then I was set to carry on his legacy. He died the next month. Car crash. I stopped playing for a long time, then picked it back up again when I was persuaded to try out for the baseball team in seventh grade. It's fun and all, but it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life," Steve shrugged and looked out the window.

"What _do_ you want to do?" Tony asked, breaking the momentary silence.

"I-I don't know yet," he said hurriedly. What if he thought being a musician was lame? He seemed like the type to think so.

Their food arrived and Steve watched Tony dig in. He ate a couple of fries at a time, pacing himself, unlike Tony. As they talked more and more, Steve could hardly believe how much they actually had in common. He was also surprised at how quickly they had hit it off. Almost like nothing. By the time they had finished their dinner and gotten out of the restaurant, it was 8:10. Tony checked the time on his phone and frowned. "I live like six blocks away. What about you?"

"My apartment is just around the corner," Steve replied.

"You mind if I stay at your place for the night?"

"I-I uhh... I guess-"

"Great. Thanks," he was already dialing his home phone number. He waited for a second as the phone rang, then Steve heard a woman's voice yelling through the phone. "ANTHONY EDWARD STARK! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"I'm alright, mom!"

"You told me that the tryout ended at 6:30!"

"It did. My buddy and I -" he was cut off. "Steve Rogers. He's in my science class. But anyway, Steve and I got hungry and stopped to get some food. I'm gonna stay at his place tonight, if that's alright." He looked at Steve as he said this. "Yeah. I'll be home tomorrow," he rolled his eyes; "I love you, too. Good night."

He slid his phone in his pocket. "Alright, Rogers. Escort me."


	4. Chapter 4

Steve was uncomfortable the moment the two of them stepped into the apartment building. As they made their way up the flights of stairs, Tony looked around as if he had never seen any such thing before. Actually, Steve wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't.

Steve pulled out his key as they approached his door. He pushed it open and put his equipment in the laundry -room along with Tony's, who followed him into every room, exploring.

"Sorry it isn't much," Steve said as he led Tony to his bedroom.

Stark looked around, evidently enjoying what he saw. Eventually he took notice of the guitar that sat beside Steve's bed. Rogers grabbed the sheet music for Tony's song and tossed the papers in his desk drawer. Thankfully, Tony was still examining the guitar. "Are you any good?" he asked suddenly.

"W-Well ... um..."

"Play for me," Stark demanded as he handed the guitar to him. Steve grabbed his pick and sat on his bed. He looked up at Tony, who nodded toward the guitar.

For a second, he had forgotten how to play. Then he snapped himself out of it and began performing the chords of a song he forgot the name of, mouthing the lyrics as he strummed. He looked up halfway through the song, seeing that Tony had closed his eyes and leaned back in Steve's desk chair. Rogers ended the song quickly, setting his guitar back where Tony had found it.

Stark opened his eyes, signature half-smirk on his face. "Not too shabby, Rogers." The boy then proceeded to explore Steve's room for a moment, discovering an interesting little toy on his dresser. In all honesty, Steve didn't even know what it was. Tony fell onto the bed, messing with the toy as he continued. "So, why haven't you performed anywhere yet?"

"I don't really know, to tell you the truth," Steve said rather sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

There was a small silence.

"I have a guitar myself," Tony held up the used-to-be piece of junk that he had pulled apart and rearranged into a mini airplane. It was quite amazing, the talent that Stark possessed. An eye that saw a masterpiece out of seemingly nothing. Steve didn't know how to respond other than a nod. Tony placed the toy on Steve's side table. "You have a girlfriend, Rogers?"

Steve wondered what went on in Tony's head. He never failed to bring up a random topic to converse about. "No," he said briskly. He thought for a moment, then asked "You're dating Pepper Potts, right?"

At this, Tony snorted. "That's one of the more popular ones, huh? I didn't think you would be the type to believe those rumors."

Steve felt something inside him flicker at the word "rumor".

"If you're not dating Pepper, then who _are_ you going out with?"

"No one."

"No one?"

"Don't believe me?" Tony smirked.

"Would it be rude to say that I don't?"

They both started laughing, and then Tony stood up and stretched. "I need a shower. Got any clothes I can borrow?" Steve walked over to his dresser, grabbing an old T-shirt and some shorts and tossing them to Stark. With that, he left the room. Steve assumed that Tony had figured out where the hallway bathroom was and would just work out the shower by himself. He decided that he should shower too and grabbed some clothes from his drawers, hoping that his mother wouldn't mind him using her bathroom to shower. He would keep it clean for when she returned home from her night shift.

* * *

Steve found himself taking a fairly long shower. He let the warm water stream down his back, trying to relax his muscles. His mind was terribly jumbled as he juggled his emotions. Tony had grown so close in such a short time, for seemingly no reason at all. And all coincidentally after he had cheated off of this boy's test and become infatuated with him? The more he thought about it, the more his feelings felt like a crush. He had never really thought about it that way before. Steve quickly shook the thought from his mind. That was just _weird._

When he finally realized that the water had cooled down a considerable amount, he shut off the flow and stepped out. He grabbed a towel from the cabinet, dried himself off, and quickly dressed himself, making his way back into his bedroom with his towel draped around his shoulders. He opened his door to discover Tony asleep in his desk chair. It was only 10:17; Steve guessed that tryouts had taken a toll on Tony's body.

It was quite a funny sight. Steve's clothes had been too big for the smaller boy, and were pretty baggy. He grinned, being careful not to make noise and wake his friend up, and tossed his towel into his dirty laundry basket. He grabbed a blanket off of his bed and cautiously draped it over Tony, knowing it could get chilly in his room. He then turned the bedroom light off, closing the door and sliding under the covers of his bed.

* * *

Tony moaned as light seeped in through the blinds of Steve's bedroom and straight into his eyes. He looked around to find that Steve was absent from the room and his bed wasn't made, and then looked at the alarm clock. 10:24 AM.

Evidently he had fallen asleep in Steve's desk chair (which he found to be extremely comfortable, by the way) not too long after he had returned from his shower. He yawned and hopped out of the chair, then trudged out of the room.

Rogers was sitting at the counter that looked into the kitchen, sipping at a mug that, judging by the smell, contained coffee. Tony didn't suspect Steve to be the type to drink coffee. He was already dressed and groomed, which made Stark wonder how early he woke up every day.

He yawned again, catching Steve's attention. Rogers smiled at him as he sat down in the bar stool beside him. "Do you drink coffee?" Steve asked, setting his mug down.

"Black," Tony replied, rubbing his eyes. Steve got up and retrieved another mug, grabbing the coffee pot and emptying the rest of the liquid into it. He set the mug in front of Tony, who took a swig and decided that it needed a bit of sugar. He grabbed the spoon that was sitting next to Steve's coffee and located the clear glass container filled with sugar, putting two heaping spoonfuls into his drink. He took another sip and was satisfied.

Rogers seemed amused as Tony went about the process of finishing his beverage, locating the TV remote, flipping through channels, finally settling for the morning news, and falling onto the couch, not speaking a word until his stomach growled. "What's for breakfast?"

"Um..." Steve opened the refrigerator, listing off options. "I could make eggs, bacon, pancakes ... we have cereal?"

"Pancakes."

"Okay, then," Steve muttered as he pulled out the ingredients to make the pancakes. He laid out the ingredients and equipment that was necessary, glancing over the countertop to see Tony laying the way he was before, staring intently at the TV. The story that the news was covering was about some new technology breakthrough. Steve didn't quite catch what it was for, but he did catch that it was courtesy of Stark Industries. He heard Tony snort and switch the channel as soon as his father's face appeared on the screen.

Steve turned back to the pancakes, mixing the batter evenly and turning on the griddle to the appropriate temperature. He wasn't quite sure how many Tony would eat, so he just made a good bunch. If anything, there would be leftovers for his mother when she woke up.

He finished up the final batch and put everything away, laying out plates and syrup and butter and anything else someone would want on their pancakes.

Tony flicked off the TV and took his place at the counter, piling his plate with four cakes and topping it off with a small scoop of butter and a coat of syrup. Steve was amazed at how much food Tony could consume. Steve didn't eat as much as him, and he was a good head taller and much more muscular. He put two pancakes on his own plate, drizzling some syrup on top.

After a second plate, Stark seemed to be satisfied and much livelier, finally holding a conversation. "So where's your mom?" he asked.

"Asleep in her room. She normally wakes up after noon, " he said, finishing off his second round and tossing their plates in the sink.

"Ah," Tony jumped off of his stool, "I'm gonna go change." He closed himself into Steve's room, rummaging through his drawers for something that didn't fit him like a trash bag. He finally found a T-shirt that Steve must have outgrown and a pair of skinny jeans that didn't quite fit like skinny jeans, but it was good enough. He found Steve's brush in the bathroom and used any products he found to make himself look presentable. Looking underneath the sink, Tony found a spare toothbrush that was still in the packaging and used it to clean his teeth. Then he borrowed Steve's deodorant and his cologne, a smell that he recognized immediately, and made his way back into the living room where Steve was laid out, watching the television.

Rogers looked up and smiled at him as he leaned over the couch. Tony flipped over the couch, landing perfectly at Steve's feet. "What d'you wanna do today, Rogers?"

"I don't know," Steve replied, sitting up. "I don't have much cash."

"I do," Tony smiled at him.

Steve leaned back, his eyebrow arching. "I get the feeling you had an idea already."

"Not really," Stark paused for a second, "What about an amusement park? I haven't been in ages."

"There's one not too far from here down the street from the old shopping mall."

"Perfect. We could-" he was cut off by his phone ringing loudly from his equipment bag in the other room. He ran to retrieve it, checking the caller ID, and held up a finger, telling Steve it'd be a minute. "Hello? ... Yeah, I'm fine. Now? ... Oh. Yeah. Send someone over... Right," he looked up at the ceiling, reciting Steve's address, "Uh-huh ... Bye."

Rogers stood up, following Tony as he made his way into his laundry room, grabbing his bag and gathering his things together. "My mother reminded me that I have a little project I need to be working on for my dad," he explained, "She's sending someone to pick me up now."

"Oh," Steve uttered in response, not meaning to sound quite so disappointed. He walked Tony down to the entrance of the apartment complex, his hands in his pockets. As Stark's ride pulled up, he turned to Steve briefly. "We'll take that trip to the amusement park some other time," he said with a wink as he climbed into the passenger seat.

The sleek black car drove off and Steve waved one more time. He stuck around awhile after Tony had disappeared, trying to organize his thoughts.

And as he did, he started to hear a melody playing in his head


	5. Chapter 5

That weekend went by fast. Steve finally found the chords he was looking for and some of the words to sum up how he felt. Though, it was definitely missing something. He could tell, despite the fact that it was still in progress. The time with his guitar was welcomed with gratitude, though, and he felt quite refreshed. Rogers had taken his sheet music and lyrics and taped them onto the wall above his bed like he did whenever he wrote a song, which was a bit rare. It helped him focus and was way easier than keeping a stack of papers on his bed as he messed with his Ibanez.

Shockingly, Steve couldn't wait for school on Monday.

* * *

As for Tony's weekend, well, it was kind of boring. Uneventful. He simply finished his project and statement for his father and lazed around the house for hours. Other than a little bit of baseball practice, that was it. Stark didn't mind it, though. His schedule had been packed for the past two months, and he was happy to indulge in some sleep.

By the time school rolled around on Monday, Tony realized how much things had changed. He had avoided Potts for the past week; they hadn't attempted to patch anything up after their exchange that had been talked about for quite some time around campus. Frankly, he didn't care to fix things. Stark was just fine with their relationship being strictly business. He'd only talk to her during student council meetings and events.

And he didn't care how immature it seemed.

Potts wasn't the only one who he'd altered his relationship with. James Rhodes had even started to complain about how Tony was acting, saying that he had "changed" and was "acting stupid".

Tony wasn't "acting stupid".

Why could no one bother to listen to him long enough to understand that he wasn't just being irresponsible? Well, other than Steve, who listened to _everything _Tony had to say. Another relationship that had changed drastically and unexpectedly. Once he opened up a little, he was a real fun guy. No doubt Stark's parents would love Steve, being so polite.

Stark hadn't planned on actually getting close to Steve, just near enough to where he'd have a throwing partner. That quickly changed. Steve and Peter took Pepper's and Rhodey's spots at the lunch table. Steve provided a sort of comfort that Tony loved. His calm, preserved nature seemed to pacify Tony's own desire to constantly engage. In other words, Steve slowed him down. But not by too much. That'd be absolutely ridiculous.

Steve felt as if Tony did the opposite for him. Stark's presence set Rogers free from his cage. He felt as if he could tell Tony anything and more. More than he told to Pete, even. He kept pushing the idea of a deeper relationship from his mind, though. Tony would never be up for that. I mean, he wasn't gay. Not as far as Steve knew. Wait ... did that make Steve gay? He never really thought about it before. He'd never had a girlfriend or boyfriend before. He wasn't really afraid to roll either way, and his mother was supportive of any decision he made. Were Steve's feelings even like that? Were they normal?

He forced himself to stop thinking about it and go with the flow of things. It was all a big headache.

* * *

As Steve was walking down the hallway that Monday morning, he heard a familiar voice calling from around the corner. "Leave me alone, Flash!"

Peter.

Rogers found himself sprinting around the corner and shoving past a crowd of people to find his friend shoved against a row of lockers, his backpack on the ground at Thompson's feet. "You practically begged for this one, Parker. Messing with my girl like that," Flash stated, getting close to Peter's face.

"Liz? She's not your girl, Flash -" a fist slammed into Parker's face before he could finish his sentence.

"Shuttup, Puny Parker."

"Back off of him, Eugene," Steve stepped forward, grabbing the other boy's arm. Thompson dropped Peter, who looked up at Steve with one eye, covering the other with his hand. Flash ignored his victim for a second, looking Roger up and down before snorting. "Ooh ... Do you plan on making me? Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"Steve Rogers."

"Well, Rogers, do everyone a favor and butt out. This isn't your fight." This statement was followed by a blanket of silence amongst the crowd of bystanders as they anticipated Steve's next move. Rogers took one glance at Peter then turned to Flash again, glaring.

"Pete's my friend. I'll make it my fight. Besides ... I don't like bullies."  
Thompson gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, swinging his arm around and aiming for Steve, who managed to dodge the attack and hit back, nailing Flash in the cheek. He stumbled backward, nearly tripping over Peter. "Get out of the way, Parker!" Flash kicked him in the torso, obviously knocking the wind out of the boy and causing him to moan loudly. Steve quickly grabbed Thompson's shirt and pushed him against the row of lockers, struggling to keep him there. "Pete! Why are you still here? Get away!" he yelled as Flash drilled him in the eye, sending him backward.

Quickly, Peter was assisted by Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne. They pushed through the crowd, Hank asking questions the entire way about his physical condition.

Steve punched Flash in the nose, causing his eyes to tear up. Rogers took the opportunity to get the other boy on the ground. As he landed, Thompson growled. "You're gonna pay, Rogers!"

"No, he's not."

The deep, booming voice of Principal Fury silenced them both and caused the entire crowd of students to disperse and rush to their classrooms, emptying the hall of everyone but him, the two boys, and Tony Stark. Steve gaped at the tall, dark man standing before him, then at his friend, who winked. "You may be dismissed to your class, Mr. Stark. I can handle it from here."

Tony nodded, mouthing the words "you're welcome" to Steve before quickly making his way down the hall to science class.

"To my office, boys," Fury commanded. He marched the boys down the hall, none of them saying a word the whole way.

* * *

"So this is my understanding..." Fury began, eyeing the boys who stared at him from over his desk, "Eugene, you began to assault Peter Parker over a girl?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You punched him in the eye. Then Mr. Rogers decided to step in."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck.

"Rather than contacting an adult, you stood up to Mr. Thompson yourself and defended your friend. Though, yet again, Eugene took the first swing. By the time Mr. Stark had gotten me over to the scene Mr. Parker had been taken to the nurse with a black eye and a bruised rib. In the end, Steven has also obtained a black eye and Mr. Thompson is left with the high probability of a broken nose. Do you have anything to say for yourselves, boys?" Nick looked to each of the three boys, all of them unable to make eye contact.

"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble, sir," Steve stated first, clutching his arm.

"I also apologize," Peter said quickly.

"Yeah. Me too."

The principal leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Each of you knows how little fighting is tolerated in this school. But I'm going to make this quick. No negotiations." Each of the boys nodded. "Mr. Thompson, a week's suspension. You're lucky no one decided to press charges," Fury said as Flash clenched his fists. "You're parents are waiting outside for you."

Eugene stood silently, glancing at Peter before making his exit into the hallway.

"Now, as for you two," Fury began, noticing Steve twitch nervously, "both of you will show up to school early for the next two weeks to assist the custodial staff."

The boys sighed in relief.

"Thank you, sir," Steve said. He had expected a punishment far worse. In fact, he feared he'd have to give up the baseball team. Peter smiled at him, glowing despite his black eye. "Well, I was reminded about both of your clear records, and it was brought to my attention that Peter is on the newspaper and Mr. Rogers is going to be on the baseball team."

The two boys stared at each other for a moment.

Tony.

Fury sent them off, reminding them "not to let it happen again", and they quickly grabbed their things and rushed to the cafeteria.

* * *

The minute Steve and Peter walked through the doors of the lunch room, they were greeted with plenty of eyes giving them their undivided attention. Rogers felt his cheeks go hot and Peter smiled sheepishly as everyone spiraled into their gossip. Tony smirked at them from the lunch table and motioned for them to sit down across from him and Bruce. As they did, Steve looked at Stark and pointed a finger to him. "You."

"Me?" Tony pushed the boy's finger back.

"You're something, Y'know that?"

"Yeah, I know," Stark was dripping with arrogance.

"You convinced Fury to let us off easy," Steve stated with confidence.

"Duh," he smiled.

"Well ... Thanks."

"Happy to help. Besides, we need you on the baseball team."

"What, are you in with Fury or something?" Parker asked.

"I'm 'in' with everyone. But yeah. You could say he and dad know each other really well," Tony said, taking a bite of shawarma.

The rest of the lunch period was filled with random gossip and chatter that no one bothered to remember. Henry Pym came over at one point to check and see if Pete was okay, making sure to greet Tony, Bruce, and Steve as well before running of to sit with his girlfriend, Janet.

The three boys walked out of the cafeteria together before parting. Steve waved at Tony as he began to walk away from him. Stark smiled.

"See you at tryouts, Steve."

* * *

Playing catch with Steve that afternoon, Stark had decided that he had improved significantly since Friday. He at least had better aim. Which he hoped got him on the team. I mean, he only had to be better than five guys, right?

He listened as coach called for everyone to line up for a base-running drill.

_Right._

* * *

As agonizing as the tryout was, Tony kept mentally talking himself up. As everyone knelt down in front of Coach Beast, Steve kept glancing at him nervously. That was when he realized how hard it was to breathe. He put an arm on Rogers's shoulder casually, using him as support.

"You guys really stepped up to the plate today, no pun intended," McCoy said, as if to break the ice. If anything, it made the air more awkward. "So, without further ado, I'll list off everyone who made the team. If you made it, grab one of these schedules. They have dates of games, practices ... and other stuff."

The two boys held their breath, not hearing anything the coach said until he spoke their names. "... Steve Rogers, Tony Stark ..."

They both let loose a breath of relief, Stark clutching Steve's arm.

* * *

Walking home on the sidewalk together, Tony looked over the schedule. "The first practice is tomorrow," he sighed.

"Don't worry," Steve reassured him, "Practices are always easier than the tryouts."

"I hope so. My heart might stop if I keep this up."

Steve looked at him nervously. Tony waved a hand. "Not really."

They approached the street that Steve had to turn onto and they said their goodbyes. "Are you sure you can make it by yourself?"

"I have a heart condition. I'm not cripple, Steve," he laughed, "I'll be fine. My place is only a couple blocks away."

Steve nodded and watched as Tony disappeared into a small crowd of people walking down the sidewalk. He smiled to himself and leaned against the brick wall of a convenience store. He was so happy. So exuberant. He didn't know who he was happier for; himself or Tony. Being on the team was a great feeling, but being on it with Tony made it ten times better.

Rogers felt a couple drops of rain and started to head home as people around him began to hold jackets over their heads and pull out umbrellas. Once he reached his apartment, he hurried in and flung his equipment and school bag onto the floor of his bedroom and jumped onto his bed, hugging a pillow to his chest. Words started to form sentences in his head, and he grabbed a pencil and scribbled them onto his sheet music. He grabbed his guitar and strummed, singing the words softly as he did so. It was great. And he knew it had to get better as he kept working on it.

Before he knew it, the clock on his bed read 10:00.


	6. Chapter 6

It's amazing how quickly someone can become the talk of any community. In only a month, the baseball team had played two games already. In the first game, Steve was a relief pitcher in the last three innings. In the second game, he pitched the entire game with only five hits off of him.

After that game, everything went uphill for Steve.

Students were constantly greeting him in the hallways, and he had been invited to a few parties. He even had a couple of girls flirting with him, though he was completely disinterested. Peter had even gained some popularity just for being Rogers's friend.

Now he knew a bit about how Tony felt. About the pressure of being 'someone'. Frankly, Steve didn't particularly enjoy it. He simply let it lie, and tried to ignore it as best he could.

Stark was grateful that he was just a bench-warmer. Actually _playing_ baseball didn't catch his fancy. And his father was proud of him, because as far as he knew, Tony was a star player.

One Thursday afternoon, though, Stark showed up to the lunch table after everyone else, obviously distressed. Steve, taking a sip of his soda, immediately looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"My dad. He wants to come and watch me play tomorrow," Tony replied, rubbing his face.

"That's great!"

"Yeah, sure. Except I don't play."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The table went silent for a minute. Then Steve spoke up. "Why don't you just ask Coach McCoy to put you in?"

"Looks like that's all I can do," Tony sighed.

* * *

That afternoon at practice, Tony approached the coach while everyone was throwing. Steve watched him with his arms crossed as he began talking with McCoy. "Coach Beast?"

"Yeah, Stark?" He had his clipboard in his arm.

"I have a problem. And the best part is, you can help me out really easily!"

Beast raised an eyebrow. "What are you asking me to do, boy?"

"Put me in the game tomorrow," Tony uttered quietly.

"Why?"

This caused Stark to sigh and run his fingers through his hair. Why did people have to ask so many questions?

"Well..." Tony began, "My dad's coming to the game tomorrow. And he wants to see me play. Just this once. Then you can bench me for the rest of the season. Honestly, I don't care."

"Howard Stark? Howard Stark has the time to come watch his son's baseball game?"

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Tony said without a hint of sarcasm.

"Y'know what? I think I'll take you up on it. Just because this is such a rare occasion. You'll be playing right field tomorrow. Now get out there and throw," McCoy said as he started to scribble on his clipboard some more.

Tony joined the rest of the team, and Steve threw him a baseball. They played catch back and forth a couple of times before Steve gave him a quizzical look. "Well?"

"I'm playing right field tomorrow," Tony said with a smirk.

"That's great!" Steve said as he whirled the ball at Stark, "Looks like everything worked out, right?"

"Yeah," Tony said, unsure. _I sure hope so._

* * *

It occurred to Tony in the batter's box the next day how little he knew about baseball. It was the second inning, and he managed to stand in right field the whole time and look like he knew what he was doing. Thankfully, nobody hit a ball in his direction.

Now he was getting ready to go up to bat after Logan Howlett hit a single to the left fielder. Stark looked up at his father, who wore his same, expressionless face. His mother had shown up with him, and was smiling down at him with pride. Howard's bodyguards sat on either side of them. He heard whispers as the crowd gossiped about "Howard Stark's son" and "Tony Stark's father".

Coach McCoy stood next to Steve, who looked extremely nervous. The coach motioned to his belt to signal a bunt. Steve whispered, "Why are you telling him to bunt?"

"Because he naturally bunts to the first baseman. I can tell by the way he stands. And the pitcher is throwing inside. Hopefully we can get him to suicide bunt; it's the best way for him to get out."

Steve nodded, and they both turned their attention to Tony, who called time and motioned for Rogers to come to him. Steve looked at McCoy, who shrugged.

Tony whispered, "What did he tell me to do?"

"Bunt," Steve said, hoping that was all.

"Thanks. Now, tell me ..."

"Yes?"

"What is a bunt?"

Rogers put his face in his hands, screaming in a whisper, "How do you not know what a bunt is? Uh... here. Just... Just swing. The worst you can do is strike out."

Tony nodded and strutted up to the plate. Steve cringed, praying for the best. The first ball that the pitcher threw flew right past him; he didn't even swing.

Strike one.

The second ball, however, was an off-speed pitch right down the middle. Stark forced himself to come around with the bat and, to the surprise of Steve, the coach, and himself, he made contact and sent the ball down the baseline on the third base side and into left field. Immediately, Tony ran as fast as he could and made it to first base, watching Logan hit second.

Anyone on the baseball team would tell you that Howlett was one to make risky and dangerous base-running decisions. So, though it didn't surprise anyone, the team freaked out when Logan rounded second base and started sprinting to third base.

This was stupid, even for a risk-taker like him.

The left fielder had the ball in his hand when he noticed Logan running full-speed past the short-stop. So, he flung the ball to the third baseman, who tagged Howlett with his glove. He was out by a long shot.

Tony, seeing that Logan was headed to third, thought that he had to run to second base after him. He ran his hardest, already feeling out of breath. The third baseman, after getting Logan out, threw the ball to the second baseman. The crowd, the team, and the coach were screaming. At this point, Tony couldn't hear anything other than his heartbeat.

Then Steve saw it.

He saw where it was going when the second baseman caught the ball and held out his glove at chest-level to Tony, who was running full-speed. "Oh my God," Steve said under his breath. Rogers sprinted on to the diamond, kicking up orangey clay as he did. The umpire began to yell at him, trying to stop the play, but it was too late.

Stark couldn't stop running, and rammed into the second baseman, the glove smashing into his chest and the force of Tony's momentum sending both of the boys crashing into the ground.

Steve ran to his side, heart racing and head pounding as he panicked. He shook his friend gently, but Tony was knocked out cold. The crowd was whispering. Beast marched onto the field angrily. "ROGERS! What do you think you're -"

"HE HAS A HEART CONDITION!" Steve screamed. The whispers stopped. Both teams were hushed. McCoy stood there staring at Tony in shock. At this point, Howard had made his way on to the field and Tony's mother, Maria, had rushed to his side with Steve. Mr. Stark was calling an ambulance and, thankfully, one arrived within minutes.

Tony was loaded on to a stretcher and carefully placed in the back. Maria climbed into the ambulance with Tony and Howard was making his to way his car, bodyguards at his sides.

Steve was standing at the back of the ambulance, fighting tears, when one of the doctors passed him. "Excuse me," Steve said nervously, "But I think I need to ride with him."

"You think? Listen kid, just family -"

"Let him on," Maria called out, tears in her eyes. Steve looked at her, then to the doctor again. The man sighed and motioned for Steve to get on. He climbed in next to Tony's mother, trying to comfort her silently. "You're Steve, right? Steve Rogers?" She asked, sniffling.

Steve nodded. He wanted to speak, but he feared that he might just choke. She smiled at him, and then put a hand to Tony's forehead. "You're one of the friends he actually talks about. I wish he would tell us more," she said, pausing before throwing in, "I'm Maria Stark."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Stark," Steve said slowly, "Though, I wish it were under different circumstances."

* * *

Steve stood in the waiting room, unable to sit. Maria sat in one of the chairs, purse in her lap. She adjusted her skirt nervously. Howard was standing outside with Coach McCoy in a heated conversation. Steve forced himself to listen through the cracked window. "What kind of father lets his son with a heart condition play baseball?"

"He didn't tell me..."

"He didn't tell you he was trying out for baseball?"

"He did, but -"

"But _what_? You signed off on it, Stark," the coach crossed his arms. Howard went silent.

"I don't think you realize how bad this actually is, Stark. Not only is your son lying unconscious in the ER, but you're ruining both your reputation and mine. Hell, you're ruining the reputation of the entire school! I let a kid with a rare, life threatening heart condition play _baseball_!"

Stark was at a loss for words. He slipped his hands in his pockets. McCoy shook his head. "Pay more attention to your kid, Howard." He pushed through the glass doors, passing a couple of the teammates that were on their way out. He made his way to Steve. "Any news?"

"None, sir," Steve said, rubbing his forehead. He looked to the other side of the room, where several reporters were waiting, going through papers, and chatting with their cameramen. McCoy patted him on the back. "I've got to get going," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Take care, sir," Steve replied. He watched as the coach walked out the door past Mr. Stark, who took a seat next to his wife.

A nurse came in from the hallway, holding her clipboard to her chest. "Mr. and Mrs. Stark?" The couple stood up as she said this, and the reporters fidgeted in their seats. The nurse took Maria and Howard into the corner. "Tony is doing better. He's finally awake. Though, we need to keep him overnight. One of you should probably stay with him here tonight."

The two of them looked at each other worriedly. "We have to appear at that convention tomorrow morning, Maria. And we won't make it in time unless we leave tonight. You know that."

"He's our son, Howard!" Maria exclaimed, "We cannot just leave him here alone! We've been terrible enough parents as it is!"

Mr. Stark growled. "Don't say that. We're great parents, Maria. You know that."

"Well, what are we going to do? Our relatives live hours away."

The nurse spoke up. "What about that boy who arrived with you? I mean, he's just a suggestion."

"Steve," Maria said, glancing at Rogers, and then looking to Howard, who stared at the boy for a second. He looked to his wife skeptically, and then nodded. The nurse smiled. "He can take visitors now," she said.

"Steve!" Maria called, clinging to her husband's arm. Steve approached them, and the nurse escorted them to Tony's room.

The nurse stood with Steve outside of Tony's door as Maria and Howard took some time alone with him. After about five minutes, the couple was joining them in the hallway again. It genuinely surprised him that they didn't take longer with their son, but it caused him to realize how far apart the Stark family really was.

"Steve, darling?" Maria snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Would you mind staying at the hospital with Tony tonight?" She asked this of him with tears in her eyes. She wanted to be with Tony, he could tell. Howard was staring at the ground. Steve nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you," Maria said as she hugged him. "Someone will be here to pick you boys up tomorrow. Be careful." The two of them left, Maria looking back at Steve once or twice, and the nurse gave him a run-through of everything.

"Now, call if you need anything. Once he wakes up and gets the 'okay' from the doctor, you're free to leave. A nurse will be here to check on you in the morning," she rambled on for a bit longer, then hurried off down the hallway.

Steve gently opened the door, peering into the room to see Tony watching the television. He closed the door behind him, catching Stark's attention.

"This hospital has the crappiest channels," he said, muting the television and setting the remote beside his bed. Steve smiled, forcing himself not to laugh. He sat down on the couch on the other side of the room, looking Tony over. "How do you feel?" He asked at last, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Bored," Tony replied, "I'm getting out of here tomorrow, right?"

"As soon as you get the 'okay' from the doctor," Steve said, looking around the room. He noticed a card at Tony's bedside that read "From Pepper" in the corner. Rogers picked it up, opening it and reading the message inside. "What happened?" Steve asked, slightly confused.

"It was just a fight," Tony answered nonchalantly, "Pepper being herself."

"So, is it fixed now?"

"Knowing her, she's expecting some heartfelt apology," Tony said, not quite answering Steve's question. Rogers nodded in some form of understanding. After a short silence, Steve spoke up again. "Coach stopped by for a while."

"Mm."

Rogers didn't really know what to say at this point. He checked the clock. 9:04. _Didn't the nurse say something about going to sleep early? _he thought to himself. In the end he decided not to take his chances. "The nurse told me to make sure you went to bed early," he said a bit awkwardly. It was one of those phrases that sound way weirder when you say them out loud to someone rather than in your head. Tony shrugged and un-muted the T.V. "I'm not tired."

"I don't think it's that simple, Tony."

"Of course it is. I don't feel tired, therefore I don't need sleep."

"Your heart nearly failed on you!"

"... Your point?" Steve's eyebrow arched as Tony said this. Stark sighed, turned off the television, and held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. Fine. I'll go to sleep, _mom._" Tony turned off the light next to his bed, sliding under the covers.

Steve rolled his eyes, laying out on the couch and finally forcing himself to drift into a light sleep.

* * *

As the Starks walked through the double doors leading into the hallway of patients' rooms, the group of reporters and journalists were surprised to see that tall, blonde boy following them.

Claire Daniels whispered to her co-workers. Although every reporter and journalist was desperate for the scoop on Tony Stark, she was, by far, the most conniving. She frowned, biting her pencil and flipping her long blonde hair out of her face. So far, her note pad only contained information about the baseball game going on when the accident occurred, the coach, and some bits and pieces about his heart condition. Nothing better than what any other newspaper or broadcasting station in the city had.

Then it occurred to her. If Claire had absorbed any advice in her years of internship, it was that "when you can't find a story, _make _a story", and that's exactly what she intended to do. She was going to condure up the story that _made _her career. This could be her big break!

But _what_?

If she had heard correctly, the blonde boy's name was Steven Rogers. He looked to be around the same age as the Stark kid.

Claire's photographer and intern, Peter Parker, walked through the doors and made his way next to her, messing around with his camera. "You told me to get over here 'ASAP'? What's the emergency?"

"Pete, do you know anything about a 'Steve Rogers'?" Daniels asked, whispering as quietly as she could.

"Steve? He's my best friend! Is he here?"

The most devious smirk crossed her face. "Tell me everything you know about him."

"Why?"

"He's important to my story," she said impatiently.

"Steve doesn't really enjoy that kind of attention. I can't just do that to him!"

"What would you say to a raise?"

Peter paused. "... Alright," he finally replied after some thought.

By the time a half-hour had passed, she had learned everything she wanted to know. Particularly about Steve's relation to Tony. Claire emailed her article that she had created to her editor, who promised it in the Sunday paper so long as she got some words from the boys themselves.

Daniels snooped around the front desk for a bit, finally obtaining Tony's estimated release time. Sadly, other reporters and journalists overheard her conversation with the desk-woman. Claire cursed under her breath and decided she'd just show up early.

She patted Peter on the back. "Do you need a ride home, Peter?"

"That's okay, I can call Aunt May and she can -"

"Nonsense. No need to bother her this late! Anything for my _favorite _intern," she smiled.

"O-Okay then."

* * *

Steve woke up, surprisingly, after Tony. The couch was _not _comfortable, and he had to keep adjusting himself a lot in the night. Stark was watching some reality show on the television. He glanced at Steve, noticing he had finally woken up. "Morning."

"Morning," Steve replied, looking at the clock. 8:00. "Why're you up so early?"

"Didn't sleep too well. This bed isn't comfortable."

"Try sleeping on this couch," Rogers stretched.

"When am I getting out of here?" Stark asked, moaning.

"The doctor should be here-"

He was cut off by a knock on the door. "Come in," Steve said quickly. A nurse hurried inside, cleaning up the room a little before checking Tony's heartbeat and blood pressure, all kinds of nurse-like stuff. Stark's doctor came in, talking with the nurse a bit before smiling. "You're perfect. I have some medication prescribed to you, and your parents should pick them up as soon as they can. Other than that, take it easy. You're free to go!" With that, the two of them left the room. Tony went into the bathroom to change into his regular clothes, and Steve took all of his friend's paperwork and receipts.

Tony stretched his arms as they walked down the hallway. "Finally," he grinned. "How about we head to that amusement park?"

"Your mother wanted you to go straight home," Steve stated, his hands in his pockets.

"C'mon, she's not even here, anyway-" Tony opened the door, only to be bombarded with a barrage of camera flashes and reporters in their faces. The two boys stood frozen in the doorway. Steve looked at Stark nervously. This attention even Tony didn't anticipate. The only reporters he had ever spoken to were at conventions he had to go to with his father, who aimed to flaunt his knowledge. Never had he been approached by a crowd like this without Howard.

One of Stark's drivers and bodyguards was stopping the reporters and journalists from getting too close. It was a small group of a couple of news stations and a few journalists for the newspaper. Not too big of a crowd, but the two boys still had no clue what to do. "Tony! How did you make the baseball team? Was it a bribe?"

"Is it true that your father knowingly approved of your joining the team?"

Tony was attacked with questions. "I tricked my father into signing the paperwork, okay? I wanted to play, and I made the team on my own."

"Are you deprived of attention from your parents, Tony?" one reporter asked.

"Does your condition get in the way of your work?" Another inquired.

"Why was your condition a secret until now?"

Tony ignored most of these questions, trying to press through the crowd with Steve and his driver. He was stopped in his tracks when a blonde woman pushed herself to the front of the crowd. "Tony Stark, is it true that your boyfriend Steve Rogers helped you hide your condition from the school?"

Steve felt his face flush. "I did help him, but we're not-" he was cut off by Tony.

"Yes, he helped me. But I made him."

"Tony!" Steve whispered.

"Shhh," Stark replied, finally pushing them out the doors of the hospital and into his father's sleek black sports car. The driver sped out of the parking lot.

Steve was running his fingers through his hair. "Tony, what _was _that back there?"

"Paparazzi."

"That wasn't what I meant," he said, "You're not bothered by any of this?" Steve asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

"Should I be?"

"They think we're dating, Tony!"

"What if we are?"

Steve paused, pink staining his cheeks. "Y-You... you don't ..."

Tony smiled, and then leaned forward to the driver. "To the amusement park down the street from the old shopping mall." The driver nodded. "Oh, and can I borrow your shades?" he added. The driver nodded again and handed Tony his sunglasses. Stark smiled and sat back in his seat. "Thanks, Brett."

Tony tossed the shades to Steve. He pulled out a Yankees hat and handed that to him as well. "Put those on," he ordered. Rogers obeyed, and Stark retrieved an old hoodie from his bag and slipped inside of it.

They arrived at the amusement park shortly, Tony saying something to Brett before dragging Steve out of the car. Steve stood for a moment next to Tony as the driver sped off into the crowded streets, staring into the bright and highly decorated sign that marked the entrance. He hadn't been to an amusement park in a while, either, now that he thought about it.

Stark grabbed his hand. "C'mon," he said, pulling Steve all the way to the ticket booth.


	7. Chapter 7

(( **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Holy crap, you guys. I am sososososo sorry. Please don't hate me. Who knew that the school year would bring total lack of inspiration? ^^; But now that we only have a couple of weeks left I plan on finishing this story up. I also apologize for the extremely short length of this one. I figured this was a good stopping point, especially for such a HUGE change in direction. :) Again, I want to thank every single one of you out there, if there are any of you left, haha!))

**CHAPTER 7**

Steve wasn't about to deny it, he was having the time of his life.

The two of them rode almost every single ride at least four times and obtained a handful of various prizes from the carnival-style games that were scattered throughout the park. They also bothered to watch some of the live shows. Neither of them knew the bands that were performing, but they enjoyed the music a lot, and left the mini-concerts with a couple of CD's on their wish lists. The amusement park had changed quite a bit since Steve had been there last. There were so many new rides and little attractions, but many of the older ones remained as well, bringing back quite a few memories. It was quite crowded, as expected on a Saturday. So many of their classmates were there on dates, working, or just hanging out. But it was still extremely fun, and the time seemed to fly by.

Tony glanced at his watch, the glowing numbers reading 8:30 PM. They had spent the entire day at the amusement park. Steve looked at his friend's wrist now, too. "Do you think that we should get going?"

"Yeah, maybe..." Tony's voice trailed off as he slowed down and came to an eventual stop. Steve followed his gaze. The Ferris wheel. He smirked as the lights that lined the ride's edges twinkled against the dark sky. He wondered why they hadn't been on it yet. "You wanna ride it before we go?" Steve asked, radiating enthusiasm.

"I've actually never been on one before."

"Then there's no excuse! Come on," Rogers took Tony's hand, gently shoving through the crowds of people to get the fairly short line.

Within minutes they were seated in across from each other in a cart with their small army of prizes they had won. The man working the ride seemed amused at this, then looked to be trying to get a closer look at their faces. The two of them turned their heads slightly, Steve pulled his cap down just a bit.

Soon the ride started, and Steve watched Tony's face glow as they ascended above the amusement grounds. The lights of every attraction gleamed at them. Stark was practically leaning out of the side now, mesmerized by the spectacle. Suddenly, Steve felt a cold sensation quickly hit his face. Then another. "You feel that?" He asked.

"It wasn't supposed to rain tonight," Tony said, staring at the sky.

They felt themselves stop at the very top, and both of their hearts nearly stopped at the beautiful raindrops continued to fall, laying a thin, transparent sheet over the park. The sprinkle didn't bother them much, they hardly noticed. Time stood still.

Tony was quiet, looking down at the tiny people below. A couple ran beneath them, rushing to get out of the park and into their car without getting soaked. Steve examined Stark's face, analyzing his unusual silence. "Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I have something to say."

"Go ahead."

"Well ..."

Tony was quiet for a little while longer, face contorting a little as he struggled to translate emotions and thoughts into English.

" ... Y'know what? Forget it."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, trying not to sound so anxious to hear what his friend had to say. Tony rubbed his arm. Was he getting cold? Or was he just nervous? Steve's heart fluttered in anticipation.

"You're the greatest guy I've ever met."

"Oh, um. Thanks, I guess!" Rogers smiled brightly, perhaps responding a bit_ too_ quickly. His heart sank. Tony looked up at him, and he didn't quite know what to say. After a pause,"You're really great, too, Tony."

"No, but really, Steve. You're too good. I didn't even realize how great you are when I met you. In fact ... I just planned on using you to get onto the baseball team."

Steve was shocked. Tony Stark needed_ him_ to make the baseball team. He knew that Tony thought he was doing something wrong, and he knew he should probably be hurt, but the thought of Tony needing him made him want explode with joy and, and -

That's what this was.

Looking into Tony's abysmal brown eyes, he'd figured it all out. He was in love with Tony Stark.

"Are you angry?

Steve shook his head violently. "No, of course not!"

"You're mad."

"No! Honestly, I'm not!" he said, looking worried. Tony released a gentle sigh and looked down below them, wondering why they hadn't already started descending. The two of them fidgeted in their seats, and they both opened their mouths to talk simultaneously. "You first," Tony said, still looking out into the sea of people.

"I was just going to say that I ..."

"You?"

"I really like you. Like. A _whole_ lot."

Steve noticed Tony's face instantly fade into a rosy red, and he knew he had to be just as flushed. Rogers wondered if what he said was too soon, and instantly felt a pang of regret and guilt. But there was no making up for it. He swore his heart was beating out of his chest._ Why am I such an idiot? I ruined it. He probably thinks I'm a freak. He probably -_

Suddenly his thoughts went blank. His eyes were wide, and he wasn't able to comprehend even his he felt warmth on his lips.

_Oh my God. He's kissing me. He's pressing his lips to mine and he's holding my knee._

Steve felt Tony's other hand on his neck as he leaned forward, and decided he never wanted it to leave. His hand instinctively rested itself on Tony's shoulder. He could feel every little touch, every subtle movement.

Then a quiet crackling from the speakers. "Sorry, you guys! Technical difficulties. We'll getcha movin' in a sec."

Tony slid back, watching Steve's face. "So yeah. I uh. I kinda like you,too," he said, clearing his throat. All Steve could do was look away and laugh. "Why're you laughing?" Stark asked. Steve just glanced at him, covering his face with his fingers. The couple burst in unison.

The Ferris wheel lurched forward. They descended with agonizing slowness, and Steve took one last look at the beautiful scenery, the blanket of thick, pouring rain.

They were forced to collect all of their things and bolt off of the ride. "Brett's waiting out front for us. Let's see how fast you can run, Rogers!" Steve and Tony rushed to front of the park, shoving past fellow park-goers escaping the rain themselves. When they got in the car they were greeted by two towels, which they took gratefully.

They shed their disguises, draping the towels over their necks. Steve glanced at Tony, who winked. He smirked, turning his attention to the raindrops sliding down his window.

_Wow._

* * *

Steve held his face in his hands. History remained his best subject, but it could get so boring when professor Carter got started rambling on World War II. He enjoyed her stories, and she was one of the greatest teachers he'd ever encountered, but he'd heard them a million times already.

He felt a vibration on his hip. Sliding his cell phone out of his pocket silently, he read the bold letters on his dim-glowing screen.

**TONY(8:45): "O, he doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems he hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear - Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows as yonder sir o'er his fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch his place of stand and, touching his, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty until now."**

Steve smiled.

**_ME(8:45):_**** Shakespeare?**

**_TONY(8:46):_**** Romeo and Juliet: Act 1, Scene 5. Lines 42-51. ;)**  
**_TONY(8:46):_**** My slightly altered version, of course.**

Steve contained himself, trying not to make it obvious by grinning at his crotch.

**_ME(8:47):_**** In English class?**

**_TONY(8:47):_**** And bored.**

**_ME(8:49):_**** Me too. :P**

He didn't receive a response for a while, so he slid his phone back in his pocket. After a couple more minutes, another vibration.

**_TONY(8:58):_**** Sorry, had to read.**  
**_TONY(8:59):_**** Ditch 3rd with me?**

**_ME(9:00):_**** Test next period. :/**

**_TONY(9:00):_**** Ew. Fine. **  
**_TONY(9:01):_**** See you at lunch?**

**_ME(9:01):_**** Sure.**

**_TONY(9:02):_**** "But soft! What light for yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Steven is the sun!"**

Steve nearly burst laughing, and at the this point professor Carter turned to look at him now. "Mr. Rogers? What is so funny about the Battle of the Bulge?" her light French accent carried clearly to the back of the classroom, where Steve sat.

"Nothing, ma'am," he muttered ruefully, barely audible. As he scribbled the notes down on his paper, he felt multiple pairs of eyes looking away from him.

* * *

He was pushing through the school's front doors now, a beautiful Monday afternoon. Or rather, as beautiful as Mondays can get.

"STEVE!"

He was greeted(and temporarily blinded) by the flash of Peter's brand new camera. "I see you got your precious camera, Pete," Steve said, rubbing his eyes and blinking hard.

"Yeah, I think I'm in love, Steve," Pete held the camera up to his face, rubbing it gently.

"Have I ever told you that you're a freak?" Steve laughed.

"Plenty of times," he proudly stated.

They advanced down the stairs, turning to see Tony talking to a large group of people. "Are you still gonna play baseball?" a girl asked, hands in her pockets.

"Well -"

"No, he's not," Steve said as he came up behind Tony, who turned around and smiled broadly at him. "Hey."

"Hey," Steve grinned.

"So the rumors ARE true!" an excited Janet Van Dyne clapped.

"What rumors?"

"You're telling me that you haven't heard?" She shrunk back.

"I haven't," he said, looking to Tony, who shrugged. James Rhodes pulled a newspaper from his bag, handing it to Tony. It was an article on Tony's baseball incident. Steve read the article over his friend's shoulder. He skimmed the article, his eyes drawn to the third or fourth sentence.

_"... Mr. Stark's boyfriend Steve Rogers admittedly assisted in keeping his condition a secret from the baseball team, Anthony saying that he 'made him'. Inside sources say that the couple has not been together long, but their friends say that they were not surprised when they announced..."_

The rest of the article contained a melodramatic story about the couple and whether or not Tony's sexual orientation would effect the way the community (scientific and otherwise) viewed him.

"I don't think I can read this anymore," Steve said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"This is gold!" Tony laughed, handing the paper back to Rhodes.

"So ... it's not true?" Pepper Potts asked, approaching the circle. She seemed to be shooting Tony a genuine look of friendly tease. Stark smirked. He wrapped a hand around Steve's waist. "Actually, the papers are true."

Squeals, gasps, and sighs filled the air. Steve looked down at Tony in alarm. He didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed with Tony's decision to announce their newly developed relationship to the school's gossip crowd.

He heard Peter mutter from behind.

_"Well, Steve. Welcome to your first publicized relationship."_


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

That afternoon, Tony entered his home to see that his parents had returned and were, surprisingly, sitting in the living room. Normally when his parents returned from a convention, his father would head straight down to his lab with new inspiration for a life-changing product. His mother would sleep in, always saying "Our beds are far more comfortable than any hotel, darling."

His father was catching up with Sunday's newspaper, his mother dozing while watching the local news. "Welcome back," Tony said, taking off his shoes and backpack.

"Son?" he could hear his dad's voice echo as he slid on the kitchen tile.

"Yeah, dad?" Tony pried open the refrigerator, trying to decide between water and soda. He chose the latter, grabbing a can and sliding back into the living room where his parents sat. Howard folded up the paper he was reading, handing it to his only son. He pointed to the article that Tony was reading less than an hour ago. "Huh, whataya know. That's me!"

"Yeah," his father breathed, brows furrowing. "Why _is_ that you?"

"I'm not a big fan of the picture, though. I was having such a bad hair day," Tony continued, as if his father hadn't spoken.

"Son," Howard said, a warning signal.

"Oh, I dunno, Dad. Maybe because I nearly died due to a rare heart condition?"

"Tony, no need to use that tone with your father," his mother threw in.

"And why did you almost die?" Howard continued, looking away.

"Because you let me play baseball," Tony said, intending to sound as harsh as he did.

"Because you forged a medical examination," Stark turned his head quickly, looking his son in the eyes. He said it angrily, and Tony returned his glare.

"Howard," Maria tried to intervene.

"It wouldn't have been possible without your signature, father," Tony stepped forward.

"Anthony."

"Were you trying to get yourself killed?!" Howard stood now.

"Dad, I don't need this -"

"Why would you talk to the newspapers?"

"They were storming Steve and I -"

"And what is this about you and this Steve Rogers? Damn reporters. We have to straighten out yet _another_ story. Now that they think you're -"

"Gay? I don't see a problem."

"That's ridiculous. You're not_ homosexual._"

"And if I am?"

"Tony, we don't need this right now. Stop joking around -"

"I'm not. I am _gay_. I prefer_ males_. And Steve Rogers is my boyfriend."

"Anthony, darling -" his mother wasn't able to finish.

"I forbid you to see this boy."

"I dare you to try and make me stay away from him."

"Fine, you're grounded. How about that? A month sounds good, right, Maria?"

"Howard, you're being a little bit harsh."

"You're not to go anywhere other than school. You'll be picked up at exactly 1:40 every afternoon, and then you'll head straight to your room."

"Why don't you just lock me up in the dungeon?"

"Still not done? No tech. That means no TV, no Internet, no cell phone-"

"Dad, you can't do that!" Tony shouted angrily.

"Watch me. Now go to your room," Howard said, slamming onto the couch and rubbing his forehead. Maria frowned, worriedly looking at Tony, who was nearly crying. The couple watched their son leave the living room, but rather than stomping up the flight of steps to his room, he grabbed his backpack and started lacing up his shoes. "Tony?" His mother stood up, holding her arm. He continued, walking into the kitchen briefly to grab an apple. "Tony, what are you doing, baby?"

Tony continued to ignore her, shoving the apple in his bag and stepping to the door. His father spoke up now. "Son, come back here."

He opened the deadbolt and stepped out into the driveway, slamming the door behind him.

"Tony!"

* * *

_Damn it!_

Steve threw another crumpled sheet of paper at the ground. The chords, the lyrics, the rhythm. They just didn't fit. His floor was covered in crushed sheets of paper, broken pencils, and emptied soda bottles. When he wasn't at school, with Tony or Pete, or playing baseball, he was writing. Or trying to, at least.

"I'm holding out ... No, no. I'm _crying_ out. I can't ... I can't see you? No, that's stupid."

How could he possibly lack inspiration?

Steve smothered his face in , guitar laying neatly beside him. Once he was unable to breathe, he lifted his face, hugging the pillow tightly to his chest. His fan caused a paper to blow onto his bed. He grabbed it, examining the words on the pink sheet. It was a flyer Tony had handed him over a week ago.

_"Hey, have you seen this?" _Tony had asked, handing the fluorescent printer paper to Steve.

_"No, what is it?"_

_"It's like a talent show/concert thing in town, I guess. You should sign up!" _Steve examined the paper closer.

_"It says original music only," _he said, trying to hand the flyer back.

_"So what? You can write a song. And you can dedicate it to me," _Tony smirked at him, pushing the flyer back at him. Peter had come into the conversation then._ "Yeah, Steve! Go for it," _he winked.

_"Okay, okay, " Steve smiled, giving into the pleasant peer pressure and shoving the paper into his bag. _

It honestly seemed easier at the time.

Rogers crumpled up yet another scrap of sheet music, littering his floor once more. He sighed, rubbing his face and ruffling his hair. A knock on the door resonated from the living room. "Steve, can you get that, please? I'm doing my makeup," his mother called out from her bedroom.

"Sure," he said, placing his guitar by his bed and maneuvering around the sea of wadded paper. He pulled the door open, only to see Tony with his backpack. "Hey," Stark said, greeting Steve with a brief wave.

"Hey, what's up?" he said slowly, obviously confused by Tony's presence.

"Can I ... er... stay here for a couple nights?

"Um. Come in," he said, watching Tony walk to his room.

"Who was it, Steve?" his mother called. Steve stepped into his mother's doorway, leaning on the post. "It's Tony. Could he possibly stay here a couple of nights?"

"During the school week ...?" she asked skeptically, looking at him in her mirror.

"Homework will be done, I swear."

"And I don't want any late nights. In bed by 10:30. And my house had better be -"

"Spotless," Steve smiled, kissing his mother on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom. Have a good night at work!"

Steve hurried into his bedroom, seeing that Tony was spinning around in his desk chair, unwadding and rewadding the paper scattered around his room. He plucked the paper Stark was holding and tossed it back to it's rightful place; the ground. "So... What's going on?"

"It's not a big deal, I just got into a fight with my parents," he said, not looking Steve in the eyes.

"Your parents?"

"My dad, rather. He wanted to ground for for a month," Tony uttered with a sigh and a complimentary eye roll.

"Well, that's not so bad," Steve said.

"No TV, no Internet, no cell. Not allowed to go anywhere but school and my room. And ..."

"And?"

"And he didn't want me to see you anymore," Tony twitched. He grabbed the apple out of his bag, taking a bite out of it slowly. "What?" Steve asked, honestly a little shocked. The couple of times he had met Howard and Maria Stark, he felt like they genuinely liked him. He had even managed to make Howard smile at him a couple of times, which was apparently hard to do when you're Tony's friend. "Why not?" he asked.

"He was bitching me out about the newspapers," Tony grumbled.

"And he was angry about you being gay," he guessed.

"More so about it being in the papers, but yeah."

There was a pause.

"So here I am," Stark smiled weakly. Steve inhaled deeply, falling back back onto his bed. "What's your plan?"

"I don't really have one," he said, spinning the desk chair quickly, " I just really want to be able to see you."

Steve's heart fluttered in his chest.

"Because, at this point," Tony continued, coming to a slow stop, "I don't know if I could go on just seeing your face twice per school day. I can't really live without you."

"And to think; of all the people you could be saying this to, it's me, right now, "Steve said as Tony snorted.

"I think you're missing the point, Steve. See, it's not when or who or what I'm saying. When you think about it, there's only one question that really matters. It's _'why?'_"

"That is probably the most brilliant think I've ever heard you say," Steve laughed.

"And right on the spot, too! Sometimes I astound even myself."

"So," Steve trailed off for a second.

"Hm?" Tony closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat.

"Why?"

Tony seemed to think about his question for a while, the two of them sitting in complete silence, aside from the fan that hummed on Steve's desk. Finally, he opened his eyes. " You know, you got me on this one. But I have an idea."

"Yeah?" Steve ran his fingers through his hair.

"I will give you one reason every day for 100 days if, and ONLY if," Tony picked up a ball of paper and tossed it to him, " you finish my song."

Steve smiled, "Sure."

"AND," he stood up, taking the pink flyer from the bed, "You have to perform it."

"You got it," Rogers laughed.

* * *

Steve was scribbling notes when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He slipped it out and set it in his lap, glancing at the message as he continued to work out some Trigonometry.

_**TONY(7:53): **_**Reason #1: You have the best eyes. It pisses me off sometimes.**

****"Rogers, put away your cell phone."

"Yes, sir," Steve said, nervously sliding the phone into his pocket.


End file.
